The role of corporations in economic development: Albania on its way to internationalisation

Albania's inward-oriented economy gradually opened to global influences during its period of transition. This eased access to markets and capital but also revealed many weaknesses in Albanian corporations. Today the country's growth strategy is based on exports. Consequently, a strong and competitive corporate sector with international potential is vital. Following the evolutionary approach in corporate governance theory, we examine internal organisation of the firm, relationships between stakeholders and Albania's historical legacy (path dependency), linking these characteristics with competitiveness and export orientation. Cluster analysis reveals two distinct groups, where cooperation between agents and human capital investment, as well as productivity and export orientation, differ significantly. In terms of development policy, the results are very important for Albania and similar countries. Beside a unique dataset, the article also introduces methodological innovations in the survey technique and represents a contribution to the literature on intangible capital.